Sardonic humor and intelligent, thoughtful literate lyrics peppered with bouncy melodic pop are this band's calling cards. For about 90 minutes Tuesday night, Murdoch and crew delivered a splendid overview of their long, brilliant career. And what a crew! The stage was crowded -- a lucky 13 musicians in all, including four string players, a trumpeter and the five core members that have led this band for more than a decade. And when a couple of dozen awestruck fans were invited on stage to dance during "The Boy With the Arab Strap" it was absolute madness and a visual delight, a virtual hootenanny.

One is never quite sure how this band will perform. We've seen them great (Orpheum in 2003), good (Wang in 2010) and mediocre (Avalon in 2006). Tuesday's show bordered on greatness. Murdoch was chatty, witty and in top form. Glancing at the nearly full venue, he said "I spent a lot of time in a tent when I was a Boy Scout. And all this time later I'm sharing a tent with a lot of strangers."

It would've been nice to hear "Sleep the Clock Around," their best song (it wasn't played), but that's a minor quibble.

The band's whimsical, fun side was evident ("I'm a Cuckoo," "Another Sunny Day") but the quieter observatioanal songs packed the most punch. "Stars of Track and Field," like Ray Davies' "David Watts," is about a rare and noble breed who shouldn't really be idolized. The heartfelt "Lord Anthony," during which an audience member applied mascara to Murdoch's brow, was sensational. "Piazza, New York Catcher" was kind of a mash note/empowerment anthem about the straight baseball player who was rumored to be gay years before Jason Collins' coming out made headlines around the world. "Judy and the Dream of Horses" and "Get Me Away From Here, I'm Dying" ended the night winningly.

Indie rock icons Yo La Tengo opened with an hourlong set of its ferocious barbed-wire explosions. Ira Kaplan served up plenty of his renowned guitar freakouts, none better than during set-closers "Ohm" and "Blue Line Swingers." Georgia Hubley and James McNew (the new guy, he made the duo a trio back in 1992) switched off on drums, keyboards and guitars. These three make lot of wonderful noise. Kaplan recalled the New Jersey band's first Boston gig 30 years ago, opening for Dumptruck at Johnny D's, before diving into "The Point of It," one of the better songs on new album "Fade."